Under the Threat of an Epidemic: People with Higher Subjective Socioeconomic Status Show More Unethical Behaviors

• Main Authors: Ting Wang, Xue Wang, Tonglin Jiang, Shiyao Wang, Zhansheng Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: epidemic; social class; socioeconomic status; unethical behaviors
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3170
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

This research focused on the psychological impact of an epidemic. We conducted a cross-sectional survey and two empirical experiments to examine how an epidemic would influence unethical behaviors and how the effect differs in people of different subjective socioeconomic statuses. These studies consistently demonstrated that subjective socioeconomic status moderates the relationship between an epidemic and unethical behaviors. Specifically, the perceived severity of an epidemic positively predicts the unethical behaviors of people with a high socioeconomic status, but it does not predict the unethical behaviors of people with a low socioeconomic status. These findings elucidate the effects of epidemics and bring theoretical and practical implications.